MR | Third Edition, September 2013

So in addition to the changes outlined yesterday, we’re making some minor modifications to how we categorise things. The most noticeable change is that except for Monday Reading and reviews, the little tag at the front of post titles is going to go the way of the dinosaur. Also, refer below for a new format for Monday Reading I’m going to trial.

Living up to its name, Beervana displayed a level of enlightenment when providing the country’s capital with a taste of the nation’s beers, again with small craft brewers and multinational brewing enterprises standing side by side. Over two days, the annual beer festival connects drinkers with beers and brewers from all corners of the country and beyond.

It officially opened on the 19th of January – one of BrewDog’s shareholders cut the ribbon – so has been online for only eight months. As such, everything roundabout still looks new, and in the process of bedding in. Around the back of the plant, a huge open-sided (for now) extension sits, indicating BrewDog are in no danger of resting on their laurels; as if that would ever happen…

I infer – and hopefully you do, too – that it makes sense the searches for “craft beer” stem from the Northeast. Breweries in that region of the country grew very strongly around 2009, which means sales increased, which we should assume also means awareness increased.

The Portman Group were actually quoted in the BBC article as saying “National trends around alcohol consumption are encouraging. Government figures show that fewer and fewer children are even trying alcohol and the number of adults that drink to harmful levels is also falling.” The evidence suggests this is, in fact, true. But the paper’s authors insist “We believe a similar restriction to that imposed on tobacco products may be justified.“